The Professional Work of Bobby Edwards
(born on 18 January 1926)
Career Highlights
Barn Dance Affiliate: Louisiana Hayride
Film, Night Club, Radio & TV
- Ernest Tubb’s Midnight Jamboree, 3
- The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
- The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4
1-Film
2-Night Club
3-Radio
4-TV
Billboard Chart Data
- No. 1 Singles: 0
- Top-10 Singles: 1
- Crossover Singles: 1
- Charted Singles:1
- Years Active: (1961)
Billboard Top-10 Singles
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Robert Moncrief, known professionally as Bobby Edwards, received national acclaim for his hit song "You're The Reason," which was released on Crest Records (#1075). The song, one of the most successful of his brief career, appeared first on the pop charts, selling over two million copies. It later appeared on the country charts where it reached Billboard chart position number four.
Robert Moncrief (Bobby Edwards) was born on 18 January 1926 in Anniston,Alabama, the son of a preacher. Edwards first recorded for Pappy Daily at 'D' Records in 1958, under the name Bobby Moncrief. In 1959 he revived Tex Ritter's "Jealous Heart" on Bluebonnet Records. The song was written by Jenny Lou Carson and was covered by Johnny Rodriguez in 1976.
In 1960, Edwards moved to the West, Coast and joined a group known as The Four Young Men. The group was initially a trio known as Darrell, Gib & Ernie (after members Darrell Cotton, Gib Guilbeau, and Ernie Williams). They released the singles "I Goof" and "Just or Unjust," which were local hits. After adding Wayne Moore, they became The Four Young Men, which Edwards then joined to become Bobby Edwards & the Four Young Men. Bobby became acquainted with songwriter Terry Fell, who placed him on Crest Records, Their first record together was the Crest Records single "You're the Reason." (No. 4, 1961).
The song became a nationwideU.S.hit, peaking at number four the country chart and number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. Though Bobby wrote the song, his manager (Fred Henley), his financier and Terry Fell, received writing credits. The song has been recorded by many artists, including John Fogert, Joe South, Hank Locklin, Johnny Tillotson, Narvel Felts and Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. "You're The Reason" received a BMI award, and was recognized as one of the most recorded songs in Country music for its time.
The Four Young Men released further singles for Crest, including "You Been Torturing Me," "Just for Tonight," and "Don't Be Bashful Little Girl" (as The Young Men Four). Eddie Cochran played guitar on some of these recordings. They would later change their name to The Castaways, and became a popular act on theLas Vegascasino circuit.
Bobby followed the success with "I'm A Fool For Loving You," also on Crest, which reached the top-ten, then moved to Capitol where he released "Don't Pretend," which reached #number twelve on the charts, and "What's The Reason," a Top 40 Country song.
Bobby appeared on the Grand Old Opry and toured often with Cowboy Copas. Edwards moved on to Musicor and Chart Records. By the end of the 1960s, Edwards had basically retired from music and returned to Anniston. He later took up gospel singing, before retiring to the Nashville,Tennessee suburb of Smyrnain 2003.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Musuc, May 10, 2009.
